Ender's game question chapters 1-5

Chapter 1 – Third
1. What attitude motivates the adults to lie to Ender?
The attitude that motivates the adults to lie to Ender is to test him and see if he can handle himself without the monitor, and he did so they also lied to him about not going into battle school, but only for a day. This attitude was an attitude to try to save the world, Graff and the fleet need a commander to save the human race next time the buggers invade, and so they needed to test Ender.

2. Explain what it seems to mean for Ender to be born a "Third". Show whether this is
a negative or positive fact to: What it means for Ender to be born a third is that he is an outcast to the world, and to his parents a mark of what they want because of religion and can't have because of the government's rules. His parents still love him, but he is a mark of shame. Ender would be illegal to the government except that they need a genius to lead the International Fleet, and Ender's parent's genes mix to create Geniuses. To his brother, Peter this is a mark that he failed to become the leader of IF, and he is not good enough. Peter hates Ender because of this and is very jealous of him. Ender's sister, Valentine loves Ender unconventionally, and doesn't care that he is a third. To his classmates Ender is an outcast, and a sign that they are all stupid compared to him, thirds are illegal in this country, because of overpopulation and the war with the Buggers, so Ender stands for bad things to his classmates.

Chapter 2 – Peter
1. Was Peter joking when he threatened Ender and Valentine?  Support your answer
with evidence from the novel. I don't think Peter was joking when he threatened Ender and Valentine even though he said he wasn't. I think the only reason he said he was joking was because Valentine threatened him back, " I do mean it" Peter said " whatever you think I mean it." referring to the fact of hurting or killing Ender.
Valentine : "Oh, yes," said Valentine "They'll believe that: 'I didn't know it would kill Andrew. And when he was dead, I didn't know it would kill Valentine too." Peter replies with the defensive response: " Not a joke a game. I can make you guys believe anything." I think Peter said this Because he was afraid of Valentine's threats.

2. Why is Peter’s behavior at the end of the chapter so completely different from the
rest of the chapter? I think Peter's behavior at the end of the chapter is so completely different because he actually regrets the way he is, but he can't help it. I also think that being cruel is just his shell , and for some reason he doesn't want people to think he is soft, so he goes too far in the other direction. He obviously told Ender he is sorry and he loves him then, because he thought he was sleeping.

3. How do you feel about each of these characters (Ender, Valentine, Peter)?  What
did the author do to help create these feelings?  I feel pity for Peter because he seems completely evil and mean, but at the end of chapter two he says how he is "...sorry, I'm sorry, I know how it feels, I'm sorry, I'm your brother, I love you."(15)He apologizes to Ender about the way he is, and this makes me feel bad for him, although I still dislike him.
I feel respect, and awe to Ender, and also like I am similar to him, because in a lot of books the Author tries to make the protagonist relatable  so you can get into the character's shoes better and enjoy the story. I feel awe for Ender because he is a six year old who, is bored in class because he learned arithmetic at three years old. I respect him for the same reason, he is a genius.
The author doesn't let you get to know Valentine very well, but the way I feel about her is like a child's feeling towards a mother. I also feel like she is very kind. I feel this way because she is very nurturing to Ender, and protects him from Peter.  I also think she has a very strong bond with Ender because when he left she was very sad. "he heard Valentine's anguished cry. Come back to me I love you forever!"(26)

Chapter 3 – Graff
1. What did Graff mean about evolution working against girls? 
What Graff meant about evolution working against girls is that girls have evolved to be strong with childbirth, but they have evolved with weaker muscle development and strength because in the human race men are naturally stronger, and have evolved to protect the women. Also our technologies evolved many men and some women thought and think that because women are weaker they need to stay at home and perform tasks such as cooking and cleaning, so they have also evolved a small amount to perform those tasks, so they are still weaker in this less sexist time. This means that Men are more fit to work in the IF because they are physically superior to women.




2. Ender is leaving to learn how to fight a war, yet he takes Graff's hand. Why does
Orson Scott Card (OSC) include this action? I think OSC includes this action, because it shows Ender isn't as hard as rock, and he is still a little bow vulnerable to emotions like fear, and anxiety. I also think this action is included because it is one of Ender's last human lovey dovey moment.

Chapter 4 – Launch
1. Explain the meaning of the following statement: “Individual human beings are tools
that the others use to help us all survive.” The meaning of this statement, is that to the whole of the the human race one very talented person is just a tool for everyone to survive. The battle school is training Ender to be the ultimate battle commander, on the other side of this training, the battle school is training Ender to be the ultimate tool against the buggers A.K.A the ultimate tool for the survival of humans.

2. Explain the following quote: "Isolate him enough that he remains creative -
otherwise he'll adopt the system here and we'll lose him." Your answer should
include the terms: isolation, creative, adopt, lose. This quote means that if Ender adopts the system at the battle school he will lose his creativity, this means that he will become a leader of group but depend on other people in his group, gain friends, and get caught in the drama and hardship of battle school. The way Graff wants to solve this problem is by isolating Ender from his group every time he adopts and makes friends with his war games comrades.

3. Did Ender mean to break the other boy’s arm?  What does this incident tell us about
Ender?  Is it acceptable to do despicable things for survival?  Why or why not? Ender consciously didn't mean to break the other boy's arms but subconsciously he did mean to break his arm, because it would stop his attempts to annoy Ender. What this incident tells about Ender is that he can be brutal if provoke, and he doesn't like to permit intolerable things done to him at all. I think it's acceptable to do despicable things for survival because it is human nature to survive no matter what, and if someone provokes, they're usually trying to get a response, and if you respond violently they were kind of asking for it.


Chapter 5 – Games
1. Ender works hard to express his feelings in private and not show homesickness in
front of any other person. Is it healthy for him or not?   What is positive and what is
negative about showing feelings?  What is positive and what is negative about not
showing feelings? I think it is unhealthy for Ender to not show homesickness, because if he kept his grief and sorrow to himself it makes the grief and sorrow worse if he is alone with your negative thoughts.      what's negative about showing feelings is that others may think Ender is weak. What's positive about showing feelings is that others can relate to Ender and help him with his grief and he can make it through his hard times. What's negative about not showing feelings is that he will suffer with his grief. What's positive about not showing feelings is that others won't know that Ender has grief, and won't think he is weak because they won't find out.

2. How did Ender beat Bernard?  Is this an unusual solution to his problem? Ender's beats Bernard by creating a fake account on the desk messaging system and humiliating him with insults that everyone enjoys. This is an unusual solution to the problem because Ender solves this problem with his intelligence, instead of his physical abilities and in the end he discovers that using his brain works better.

3. List the different coping mechanisms (ways of dealing with difficulties) Ender
shows. For each one describe whether the overall result of each is helpful or
harmful to Ender. 
Ender's first coping mechanism is using his brain, he beats Bernard by using his wit and intellectual skill and the results are more satisfying. overall the result is helpful to Ender.
Ender's second coping mechanism is using violence. Using violence Ender put the bully in the hospital  and got Bernard to stop pestering him on the shuttle. Overall the result of this is harmful to Ender, because he feels evil after performing these acts, and it doesn't always permanently solve the problem.
Ender's third coping mechanism is hiding his feelings and counting the numbers. Ender hides is feeling of homesickness, and sorrow of missing Valentine from the other boys, and he also counts the numbers in his head till the feeling passes. Overall this is a slight bit more helpful than harmful to Ender, because it keeps the other boys from thinking he is weak but it also causes him to try to ignore his other problems in the future. the habit of ignoring your problems can be detrimental to his life, health, the saving of the human race, because if he is iced out of battle school, the human race is almost surely doomed to annihilation from the buggers.

Ender's Game Anticipation Guide

"Lying is Justifiable if it's for the greater good." 
      I rated this a two, because I don't think lying is acceptable unless it is for something very important, that if isn't lied about it will be catastrophic to many people. Although the person or group of people one is lying to (even lying to save the world) will be angry at the person or people lying to them.

   

"Sometimes violence is the only way to solve a problem." 
      I rated this a two, because usually there is a way around solving a problem using violence, although it is harder to accomplish your goal and can take more effort to solve the problem nonviolently. The only reason one should use violence to solve a problem, if they already tried to solve it nonviolently and it didn't work, although if you're trying to solve a problem in your life easily, violence is the way to go. Also certain people don't want to listen to words, and so a problem if that type of person is the issue, the problem must be solved with violence.

"It is okay to kill someone in self-defense." 
     I rated this a four, because I agree with this statement but there are certain situations where you don't want to kill your attacker. Most of the time if someone is trying to harm and maybe kill or molest you, and you can stop them, they usually deserve to be killed and if you're okay with the moral and legal consequences then go ahead. There are situations like if your attacker is an insane family member or someone under the influence, you still love them and they're still apart of the family, you most likely don't want to kill them.

  "Words are stronger than fists." 
        I rated this a four. I think most of the time you can persuade your enemy or opponent to make a treaty with you to solve the problem. Also if you're trying to get a large group of people to believe in you or your argument it is easier to convince them with words then to have them all subdued by violence. Also the people you convince if you use violence aren't believing in you or your argument on their own accord, so they will hate you even if they have to support you, but if you convince them with words it is their own decision so they will really believe in you or your argument. Once you subdue someone with violence if you want anyone else to believe in you, you have to subdue them with violence too, because after seeing you do it they will dislike you and won't be convinced by your words. 

"Bullies hurt others because they have low self esteem."  
      I rated this a three, because I could go either way with this point. This is definitely the text book argument of why kids bully, but I think they also bully, because they feel superior and they're in control, or because they like the feeling of others fearing them. So I do agree with this argument, but I think there are many other reasons one would bully other people.

"Only the best and brightest students should receive the best education to become a nation's leaders." 
     I rated this a four, because I agree with this statement. Although I think there is a small  whole in this statement, because If a person proves that even though they're not the smartest or richest people they can still lead, then obviously they deserve to lead. The reason I agree with this statement, is because usually the brightest of people have good decision making skills. I think it seems prejudice for me to think this, and I know I am somewhat wrong, but it is easier for the smarter people to handle the hard school.  A lot of smart people work under pressure in the harder classes, so they're used to working under pressure in school so it is easier for them to handle pressure in leading a nation.

"Revenge is never justified." 
     I rated this a two, meaning I disagree with this statement. I think most of the time revenge isn't justified, because the people getting revenge have clouded judgement and do not know the whole story of the person they're getting revenge on, and why they acted as they did in the first place. Or for example a Jewish person wanting to get revenge and hurt the modern day,2013, Germans isn't justified because they weren't there for the holocaust it was their ancestors, so they didn't make that decision. They don't deserve the harm the person might inflict on them.

"Crying is evidence of weakness."
    I strongly disagree with this statement. I feel this way because someone cries out of joy or sorrow, and it is just a simple emotion expressing tool. If someone is crying because another person close to them died they're not crying out of weakness, they're crying because it expresses how much they cared about that person, and how sad they are that they're gone.

"Any action is acceptable in war." I rated this a one, because I strongly disagree with this statement. I feel this way because even if it's war time and your country is suffering and in a bit of a financial depression, doesn't mean you can go around robbing people, because of the lack of authority. Also if your a solider, even if you hate the countries government, and their choices, it doesn't mean one can rape and pillage the country's citizens. It is not the citizens fault for what their country has done. None of those acts among other war time activities are acceptable.

"Teenagers need discipline and rules because they can't control themselves." I rated this a three, because I think teenagers need discipline and rules, but not because they can't control themselves. I think they need rules and discipline because they're learning how to function in the world, and without rules they would go crazy with their freedom. The act of that much freedom without rules, would mess up the development of their developing brains.

"Only through personal sacrifice can someone create positive change." I rated this a two, because I disagree. Someone can make positive change without personal sacrifice, although it takes a lot of work. It is almost easier to have a little personal sacrifice, but not too much because than the positive change is poisoned by your own unhappiness.   

"Generating compassion for your enemies is the only way to create peace." I rated this a five, because I strongly agree with this statement. I feel the way I do, because  even the signing of a peace treaty is generated by some form of compassion. If one tried to create peace with their enemy by completely destroying them, it would fail. An enemy always has family or allies to avenge them, so by trying to create peace this way one would just create more enemies. If one cannot generate compassion for their enemy at least a sliver of forgiveness is necessary to create peace.  

My Learning Style

I am an Interpersonal Learner

my mantra: I understand what you mean.

Interpersonal learners thrive on social interaction. Friends often ask you for advice because you are understanding and in tune with the people around you and their motives, emotions, perspectives, and moods.

Your ability to manage relationships helps you understand situations and take a leadership role when necessary. You enjoy teaching and sharing your thoughts.

Careers that require insight and the ability to read what someone else is thinking or feeling -- such as teaching, psychology, or sales -- would be a great match for those with interpersonal intelligence.

Tips for the way you learn:

• Give and receive feedback.
• Talk out problems.
• Work on large-group projects so you can use your social abilities to divide up tasks and understand all aspects of the project.
• Be a part of active learning through mentoring, tutoring, or an apprenticeship. This activity will reinforce your own knowledge or abilities.

  
  

  I am an Intrapersonal Learner

  my mantra: To thy own self be true.
  Intrapersonal intelligence has been said to be the road to achievement, learning, and personal satisfaction. You are connected to who you are and how you feel, and you know your own limits and abilities. You often set goals for yourself, self-manage, and reflect on results.
  Those with intrapersonal intelligence do well in careers where self-management is important, such as being a writer, a teacher, a counselor, a police officer, or a pilot.

  Tips for the way you learn:

  • Study alone in a comfortable yet quiet environment.
  • Set goals for yourself, and monitor your progress regularly.
  • Reflect on what you have learned, and think through new material.
  • Create a connection between new material and subjects you already know, and gain understanding by finding their similarities.

    
    

    I am a Verbal-Linguistic Learner

    my mantra: Tell me in words -- written or spoken -- and I will understand.
    Verbal-linguistic intelligence (along with logical-mathematical intelligence) is often associated with doing well in school. You have the ability to use words effectively for reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The poet has been described as the epitome of verbal-linguistic intelligence.

    Tips for the way you learn:

    • Use words to explain complicated subjects.
    • Ask questions.
    • Engage in the Socratic method, digesting information through a question-and-answer exchange.
    • Hone your native ability to tell a story.

Feedback:

       I got a 69% Interpersonal learner. I think this rather fitting learning style for me. I do like to give and receive feedback and talk about my problems. It is a bit startling on how accurate this quiz is on how I learn. I'm very glad I took this quiz because even though I knew that this is mainly how I learn, I also learned the specifics of being an Interpersonal learner. I really appreciate the mantra "I understand what you mean." Because this is very true to my life. Sometimes I have trouble working on things alone, but when I work with another person our combined brain power can get the job done. I enjoy working on assignments with others, although some of the career paths are not what I'm looking for. I really am not interested in getting into teaching and psychology doesn't really catch my eye, but I could get into sales. What I really want to get into is law, but maybe it's not for me. I got 47% intrapersonal leaner, and I wasn't very surprised  This learning style doesn't describe how I learn so much, but it describes some of the ways I am outside of school. It also said I should study alone in a quiet yet comfortable environment, and when I am not working with others on work this is exactly what I like to do.  I got 53% verbal-linguistic learner and this is another way I learn, but usually I use this way to learn when I need help on a homework assignment. I also think this is a strong character trait I have, because I really enjoy reading, so I like to say and hear complex and intelligent words, and from reading I am always learning new ones.

A Bad Day for a Swim

My family and I were laying on the river-side relaxing. It was getting later in  the day, and the temperature was cooling down from 80°F to about 75°F. Little did we know our day was about to get a whole lot worse. My two year old brother, Grant, launched himself off the shore, sinking faster than I thought possible. How naive we were, to think a little toddler wouldn’t do something stupid. It was like my brain malfunctioned, I didn’t know what to do and I was quite dumbfounded at the time to what had happened. My father’s voice rang out like a gunshot

“Who is going af-..”

“I’ll go”, my Mom hastily spat out the words before diving in the ominously calm, dark water. If you don’t know my mom, she seems very calm but she is a very nervous person, and like all mothers she has that sixth sense that tells when her children are in danger. She was practically in the water before Grant. My mom isn’t the strongest swimmer around, she doesn't even like to swim all the way across the river to the jumping rocks,but I think the adrenaline with her baby being in danger gave her an inhuman amount of strength and courage. Time slowed to a stop. Mom was underwater searching for what seemed like eternity, the fear twisting a sickly black knot inside my stomach, poisoning the vacation. I could see her under the water looking and feeling around for Grant, the bubbles floating up to the surface and exploding, my brother’s lifeline slowly ticking away. I could hear my heart beating in my ears, and the adrenaline gave me superhuman senses. I could taste the dusty dry air. I could feel the atmosphere buzzing with the tide of mosquitoes that come with the dark, and worst of all I could see the events unfolding in front of me. I could tell my dad was torn between staying on shore or joining the frantic search for my brother. I remember thinking to myself: My brother is so little, let him live through this safely. Time was running out,

“Dad, can babies hold their breath?” I quietly asked

My father muttered an unenthusiastic”yes.”

Grant just wanted to swim like the rest of us, but he doesn’t know how, and he doesn’t float. Then Mom plunged out of the water like a superhero with my brother in her arms and time snapped back into place.

“Wow, you saved him!”, I said breaking the silence. Mom is so great, she saved my little baby brother, my four year old consciousness thought. My mom in all her heroic glory sat down with her baby boy cradled in her arms. The sweet smell of the air and beauty of the impending dusk seemed to mockingly laugh at us, as if to tell us about how our day had almost come to a tragic end.

My dad said what we were all thinking, “let’s go back to the campsite, make dinner, and try to relax.”

That was my summer vacation nine years ago. My family was out camping in Petrolia, California. It was a majestic day, with the sun beating down like mighty Hephaestus, with Petrolia in the grips of his furnace. I can remember the conversations before that terrible turn of events.

    “I’m so glad we could take this family trip, I love being together” my Dad said blissfully.

“ Yeah, and the weather is so hot it’s great, it makes the water so refreshing.” My mom replied. At four years old I was quite talkative, but I have never really told anyone about this situation. Even at four I had a photographic memory and so to this day I am still haunted by that traumatic incident. I don’t hate Petrolia, in fact we have gone back many times after that event, but slowly it has seem to pull it’s tendrils of memories and experiences out of our lives. We haven't gone back there in at least five years and I am glad,because I think even if it is a nice relaxing place, it will always be the place where my brother almost drown. Despite that I am still haunted by this experience. It seems like just a memory now, and in my minds eye it could easily be a very realistic dream instead of a real life event.